Robin Carter-Cooper

Instructional Equity and CTE Program Specialist

Rochester Community Schools

Robin Carter-Cooper is the Instructional Equity and CTE Program Specialist for Rochester Community Schools. She is a facilitator and trainer on various social justice topics as well as the lead support in her district for diversity, equity and inclusion. Robin has a special interest in topics including institutionalized racism, cultural competence, culturally responsive teaching and stereotype threat. Her research is primarily focused within the K-12 education system.

Presentations from Facing Race 2018

Knowledge is (White) Power (KWP) is designed to trace the white supremacist origins of public education—emphasizing the institutionalization of various racial tropes designed to create and reinforce the social hierarchy we experience today. Due to the cross-institutional nature of white supremacy, KWP is designed to incorporate elements of pop-culture with government policies (i.e. housing), as examples of how no single system (i.e. education) could propagate white supremacy without the expressed reinforcement of other institutions.

Participants will be guided through a series of multimedia presentations, dyads, small group conversations, and writing activities—all of which are designed to connect the systemic structure of white supremacy with the personal narratives of our participants. Our goal is to both inform as well as create space for something experiential. It is our belief that the pairing of a chronological review with more contemporary, heartfelt experiences will have a greater impact on participants and thus increase the likelihood that they will incorporate this co-created experience into their daily lives. By the end of KWP, participants will better understand the role of race in the formation of public education and the larger web of recurring racialized themes which inform many of today’s K-college institutions. Finally, our guests will leave with a collectively generated, real-world list of ways to mitigate the impacts of white supremacy in our school systems from the home to the local, and state levels respectively.